Court OKs Covert iPhone Audio Recording

• By David Kravet

Using an iPhone to secretly record a conversation is not a violation of the Wiretap Act if done for legitimate purposes, a federal appeals court has ruled.

“The defendant must have the intent to use the illicit recording to commit a tort of crime beyond the act of recording itself,” (.pdf) the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.

Friday’s decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which involves a civil lawsuit over a secret audio recording produced from the 99-cent Recorder app, mirrors decisions in at least three other federal appeals courts.

The lawsuit concerns a family dispute over the making of a dying mother’s will. Days before the Connecticut woman died, her son secretly recorded a kitchen conversation between the son, mother, stepfather and others over how to handle her estate after her death.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/08/covert-iphone-audio-recording/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20wired27b%20%28Blog%20-%2027B%20Stroke%206%20%28Threat%20Level%29%29#ixzz0x72wjUKR

The Tragic Death of Practically Everything

Microsoft, Firefox, Facebook, the Mac--they live on in our hearts.

Wired Editor in Chief Chris Anderson is catching flack for the magazine's current cover story, which declares that the Web is dead. I'm not sure what the controversy is. For years, once-vibrant technologies, products, and companies have been dropping like teenagers in a Freddy Krueger movie.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/203638/tragic_death_of_everything.html

The Web Is Dead. Long Live the Internet

Google Chrome tablet set for November UK release?

HTC set to build network-supported iPad rival

By Gareth Beavis

Google first Chrome-based tablet looks set to debut in November, with HTC in the frame to build it.

The new tablet would be launched on 26 November in the US, which is coincidentally Black Friday, the busiest shopping electronics shopping day of the year.

And it's not too much of a stretch to think Google would be launching its first Google Chrome tablet internationally at the same time, as it looks to prove its new OS can rival Apple and Microsoft in the same space.

Read more: http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/google-chrome-tablet-set-for-november-uk-release--711078#ixzz0x6Pa2LQ0

Sony’s PSP Could See Touch Controls on the Back in Next Generation Model

By Evan Selleck

t’s been a little while since we’ve heard rumors about the next generation PSP. At least, rumors that were interesting enough to talk about. This time around, it’s sounding more and more like Sony’s planning on keeping the overall look and feel of the current generation PSP-3000, but they’ve definitely got some interesting ideas that are either going to hit gamer’s right in the heart, or right in the face.

We’re not sure how this new rumor falls into place with Sony’s UK Sales Director,

http://www.slashgear.com/sonys-psp-could-see-touch-controls-on-the-back-in-next-generation-model-1998270/

Everyone Offers Collaboration Software, But Who Really Needs It?

From techdirt

If you're unfamiliar with how our Insight Community works, companies use it to get insight and analysis from folks here in the Techdirt community. If you're a registered Techdirt user, then you're also a member of the Insight Community and are free to take part in this discussion. The top results can earn cash rewards, so this is a nice way to make some money for being smart.

Enterprise 2.0 has been a catch-all description for the shift towards better collaborative software tools that help groups communicate in real time to increase employee productivity.  As part of this movement, IBM sees a progression away from a world centered on emails using Microsoft Word and Outlook.

Supporting this idea, IBM has a whitepaper entitled: "Collaboration 2.0 -- Taking Collaboration to the Next Level: From the E-mail and Document-centric World of 'Enterprise 1.0' to the People-centric World of Enterprise 2.0".  Register to read it, and IBM would like your feedback on it.

Download the whitepaper here.

http://www.techdirt.com/blog/ic/articles/20100818/140021.shtml

Law & Order UK back for series 3


From http://eztv.it/tvnews

The cream of British acting talent are back together for the third series of the hugely successful ‘Law & Order: UK’. Series 1 and 2 have proved a huge hit with viewers, averaging 5.9 million viewers an episode. The programme covers diverse storylines taken from the original hit US series but all with a distinctly British perspective. Now the teams are back to solve more perplexing crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice.

BRADLEY WALSH (Torn, Coronation Street) is DS Ronnie Brooks, a real East End, copper’s copper, friend and partner to the charming DS Matt Devlin, JAMIE BAMBER (Battlestar Galactica, The Last Detective, Ultimate Force) whose approach to policing is part seduction part force. Both report to DI Natalie Chandler (HARRIET WALTER, Morris: A Life With Bells On, Broken Lines, Atonement) a working mum who would back them to the end.
http://eztv.it/tvnews/5374/law-and-order-series-3/

Crazy Roger Federer Trick Shot a Viral Hit for Gillette

By Adam Ostrow

A video featuring tennis star Roger Federer that plays on our collective fascination with “real or fake” hit the web earlier this week and has quickly gone viral, accumulating more than 700,000 views as of this morning.

The video, which was part of a Gillette commercial shoot in Switzerland, features Federer serving a tennis ball and knocking a can off the head of one of the crew members –- twice in a row. This is made particularly compelling because, well, if he missed … you get the idea. Supposedly, it was all filmed in one take.

http://mashable.com/2010/08/18/roger-federer-trick-shot-video/

RIAA: Google/Verizon deal needs yet another gaping loophole

By Nate Anderson

Plenty of people are worried that the Google/Verizon net neutrality proposal has too many exceptions. The recording industry is worried that it doesn't have enough.

In a letter sent today to Google CEO Eric Schmidt, the RIAA and other music trade groups expressed their concern that the riddled-with-gaping-loopholes policy framework nevertheless might put a damper on ISP attempts to find and filter piratical material flowing through the Internet's tubes. Failure to allow for this sort of behavior would lead to an Internet of "chaos."

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/08/riaa-googleverizon-deal-needs-yet-another-gaping-loophole.ars

Apple may be looking to lock out unauthorized iOS users

By Chris Foresman 

Apple has applied for a patent on a method to differentiate between authorized and unauthorized users of a particular iOS device. Once an unauthorized user is detected, the device can then automatically disable certain features or send notifications to Twitter or other services.

The patent, titled "Systems and Methods for Identifying Unauthorized Users of an Electronic Device," describes several ways a device could sense who is using an iPhone or iPad. Among the methods considered are voice print analysis, photo analysis, heartbeat analysis (!), hacking attempts, or even "noting particular activities that can indicate suspicious behavior."

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/08/apple-considering-identification-of-unauthorized-ios-users.ars

Intel: 'security now third pillar of computing'

McAfee acquisition will increase innovation, says chip giant

By Dan Grabham

Intel CEO Paul Otellini says that the proposed acquisition of security giant McAfee will enable Intel to innovate across all three key pillars of computing.

"Over the past couple of decades there have been a few critically important inflexions in computing [such as the internet and rise of the personal computer] and we now live in a world of multiple devices," said Otellini during a conference call to announce the McAfee deal.

Read more:


 http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/intel-security-now-third-pillar-of-computing--711244#ixzz0x5eaIc59

HP reports $30.7 billion revenue, up 11 percent

by Erica Ogg

Hewlett-Packard was right where Wall Street expected when it reported third-quarter revenue of $30.7 billion Thursday.

The $30.7 billion in revenue is an increase of 11.4 percent from the same quarter a year ago. The PC maker also reported net earnings of $1.7 billion, or 75 cents per share, excluding costs related to a legal settlement and taxes.

That's exactly what HP said it would report when it previewed its third-quarter earnings earlier this month--the same day it announced CEO Mark Hurd was resigning. Wall Street was looking for revenue between $29.7 billion and $30.7 billion.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20014153-260.html?tag=cnetRiver

Pink Floyd albums removed from iTunes after record contract expires

By Slash Lane

Numerous albums from legendary rock band Pink Floyd have disappeared from Apple's iTunes store, along with other digital storefronts, following the expiration of a contract between the band and its record label.

Pink Floyd's contract with EMI covering albums post "Dark Side of the Moon" expired on June 30. Since then, some of the band's most popular albums, including "Wish You Were Here," "The Wall," and "Animals," were removed from the iTunes Music Store, as well as Amazon.com and other digital music sellers.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/08/17/pink_floyd_albums_removed_from_itunes_after_record_contract_expires.html

Apple’s App Store Director Sells His Own Fart Apps

• By Brian X. Chen

Apple has long been an icon for quality products, but its overflowing iOS App Store is a crapshoot: Nuggets of quality are buried in a vast, steaming heap of inanity. In fact, the man who oversees the App Store process runs a side business selling fart and urination apps.
Phillip Shoemaker, director of applications technology at Apple, who runs the App Store process, sells iPhone apps in the App Store under the company name Gray Noodle

 http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/08/apple-fart-apps/all/1#ixzz0x382tMlV

Free software downloads and software reviews 

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What is Speedtest.net?

Use Speedtest.net to test the speed of your Internet connection. See if you are getting what you pay for and share your results with others!

Speedtest.net is a broadband speed analysis tool that allows anyone to test their Internet connection. Ookla provides this service for free to anyone curious about the performance of their connection to and from hundreds of locations around the world. Whether you test just for fun or you really need to certify and validate the true speed of your Internet connectivity, Speedtest.net is the place to be. You can view all of your historical results, share them easily, and even compare them to others in your immediate area or around the globe. http://www.speedtest.net

Facebook adds geolocation, check-ins to iPhone and Web apps
By Jacqui Cheng

Facebook has finally joined the rest of the social media world by announcing "Places," a feature that lets users "check in" to a geographical location and broadcast that info to friends. Made for use with mobile devices, Places also allows users to see who else has checked in at a particular location and even tag friends who are there with them. As usual, however, certain groups are already criticizing some of Facebook's settings, saying that the defaults are too fast and loose with users' privacy.

http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2010/08/facebook-adds-geolocation-to-iphone-web-apps.ars

The Secret Histories of Those @#$%ing Computer Symbols

• By Gizmodo

By Bryan Gardiner
They are road signs for your daily rituals – the instantly recognized symbols and icons you press, click and ogle countless times a day when you interact with your computer. But how much do you know about their origins?

Read More http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/08/computer-symbols-history/#ixzz0x2BYbKEF